Member Spotlight | August 2020
Thera Rocco, Executive Director
Westfield Day Care Center
I have been with the Westfield Day Care Center for 21 years. I began as a young Assistant Teacher and shortly after became a Lead Teacher with ages 2 1/2 through 5 yrs. After the birth of my first child, I transitioned to the Asst. Director position and 14 years ago, I became the Executive Director. All 3 of my children attended WDCC which makes me fortunate to have been a Teacher and Parent, as well as an Administrator! I am extremely passionate about early childhood education and I believe I was meant to be a part of this amazing program. I’m truly honored to work with and collaborate with all of the children, families and staff here at WDCC!
We have recently re-opened our center after being closed for 3 1/2 months due to the Covid pandemic. This isn’t what we, as early childhood educators are used to! It’s taken many hours of preparing, meetings and collaboration with each other to re-open successfully under the new guidelines and requirements. We have been open for 5 weeks and I believe all those hours were worth it and it has been a successful transition to the “New Normal”! I’m amazed at how these young children have adapted to the changes so quickly. Children amaze me everyday and that’s why I’m here! I wouldn’t want to be in any other field…this is where I’m meant to be!
If you know someone who excels in the field of early childhood education and deserves recognition, please contact us at mail@njaeyc.org.
So proud of this woman, my niece, Thera Rocco. What an inspiration for other educators through this pandemic; looking for solutions that benefit the children as well as the parents and teachers. Having three children of her own, she knows the importance of social interaction, especially at the preschool age. Thera and her staff worked all summer to get the school ready for this challenge and are proof of “where there is a will, there is a way”! Great job!